Endless happiness is a modern obsession our brain can't handle. Why is that? Our world is full of opposition/contrast When contrast is too little our brain is unable to realize it Our brain begins realizing it when contrast is big enough.
It means that you need to perceive darkness to understand light. You need to feel cold to better value warmth and vice versa. Then.
. . There's no happiness to those who never experienced sadness.
It's really hard to value love if we never experienced lack of love Then it's easier to understand why there's no "Happily ever After" in real life. Why is that? Because this movie in real life should've been made of contrasts.
"Happily ever after" lacks contrast and happiness lies in the appreciation of the differences found in contrast. As we realize that, we take the first step toward happiness Which can be achieved through resiliency Resiliency is our ability to undergo terrible circumstances Facing it without negating it and without losing sight of the future That's what bring us to the path to happiness. Happiness encompasses the right now and the future, all at once.
Happiness brings the benefits of the present and the benefits of the future If one only lives with their heads in the future They're unable to be happy right now. If they live only in the present They're gonna be unable to be happy tomorrow. The best analogy for this is food.
Eating something tasty and unhealthy will bring you happiness today but not tomorrow. Eating something tasteless but healthy will bring happiness tomorrow but not today. So the best food should be the one that is both healthy and tasty.
As it contains both the benefits of the present and the future. Sleeping follows the same principle. When we don't sleep well We increase the chances of depression and anxiety While when we sleep well We increase our chances of better decision making both in the present and future.
Thus, this is the second step towards happiness. Eat well, sleep well. When we eat and sleep well We feed our body and our brain.
Our brain works better balanced and in return it gives us a sense of well being. Unlike what most people think, stress is not the biggest hurdle to happiness Happiness biggest enemy is failing to recover from stress. That's why sleeping is so important and necessary.
Resting is essential to our goal toward plain happiness. Sleeping and eating well also aids our focus. This is the third step towards happiness: Keeping Yourself Focused.
Focusing on the people we meet equals Quality Time. To keep yourself focused, the "Less is More" rule should be applied. We should engage in less activities Simplifying life so that we can be more productive and happy.
Focus and Gratitude should always walk side by side. Splitting attention is damaging. Focusing works against procrastination Procrastination walks side by side with unhappiness The more focused we are the less of a procrastinators we become.
So we're happier. A focused mind helps us identify the good things in life easier Aside from eating and sleeping well the next best thing to help our focus is Meditation. It aids us to keep our attention to the present and to bring us awareness.
So the 4th step towards happiness is exercising. Our body needs a series of substances to feed our brain And a well fed brain gives us a whole state of well being. Exercising 30 minutes 3 times a week already brings a lot of happiness.
and exercising with other people makes us even happier. Which leads us to the 5th step towards happiness: The Good Experiences in life. Our brain measures experiences on a scale of its own.
We need to experience more and buy less. Our brain measures our experiences on a different scale than the acquisition of things. So when we buy something Our happiness is fickle and it quickly loses its luster.
Experiences on the other hand, be them short or long term It lasts way longer. This happiness lasts a long time. So it's way easier to be happy with experiences than with things.
It's also important to choose well our experiences with people we care about, which will make us even happier. A Shared Experience. We should keep good company and avoid bad company.
Good Feelings help us recover from stress and increases the chances of happiness. One good example: A smile. Smiling is very healthy.
The interesting thing is that even when you're sad if you make an effort to smile You can trick your brain into thinking you're less sad Which in return it will give us a sense of well being turning us literally happier. Another good thing to help us in sadder situations is Listening to songs from a time when we were happier It makes us feel better and it aids our path to happiness. In 2 million years of evolution we tripled the weight of our brain.
That means our connections from the frontal side increased. Bringing us imagination A way to experience within our own mind both the present and the future. This way we can choose better the experiences we want to live.
Experiences that when chosen with prudence and care will most likely bring us happiness. While when they're guided by unlimited ambition They generally come followed by theft dishonesty, betrayal. Recklessness, cowardice.
Generally bringing unhappiness to all of us and those around us. So our worries are a necessary asset that combined with balance will help us with our choices in the present, aiming at the future. So, resiliency, a good night sleep, a good diet a better focused mind, a bit of exercise and good experiences in life are not expensive things.
They will definitely help you manifest the well desired happiness. How about you? Do you have any other steps to suggest?
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